# Pipe Tobacco in the late 1700's?



## Stonedog (Mar 9, 2011)

Does anyone have information about pipe tobacco from late 1700's, maybe specifically in the 1770's? 

I believe everyone used clay pipes back then, but how advanced (for lack of a better term) was the tobacco? Did they simply use twists of dried/cured leaf from the southern plantations or had the practice of casing/topping with flavors, ribbon or flake cutting, etc come about yet?


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

I have no specific knowledge of this but I would assume that there was some rudimentary flavorings added at some point, whether it was with rum or some other flavors


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## canadianpiper (Nov 27, 2010)

Interesting question, I too am curious about this.


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## Stonedog (Mar 9, 2011)

Here is an interesting read, although it doesn't mention the tobacco so much as the pipes.


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## Nachman (Oct 16, 2010)

I have heard that the "Navy" tobaccos resulted in the shipping of tobacco in the same barrels that rum was transported in. The ships made a big circle. they brought slaves from Africa to the Indies. Sold them and picked up rum. Took the rum to America and picked up tobacco and took it to England. Then back to Africa to start the circle all over again.


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## quo155 (Aug 10, 2010)

Interesting topic/question...opcorn:


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Nachman said:


> I have heard that the "Navy" tobaccos resulted in the shipping of tobacco in the same barrels that rum was transported in. The ships made a big circle. they brought slaves from Africa to the Indies. Sold them and picked up rum. Took the rum to America and picked up tobacco and took it to England. Then back to Africa to start the circle all over again.


Can't remember where I heard it, but they also wet down the tobacco with rum and wrapped it in canvas/sails for transport back to England -- might have been in that Mac Baren video on navy flake. I'm guessing that might have preceded using the casks for shipping. (By an odd coincidence, my 13th great grandfather came to Virginia in 1666 and was a "sotweed factor", a tobacco merchant. Maybe a seance is in order.) Either way, it would seem that "cased" tobacco arrived in Europe early on.


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## indigosmoke (Sep 1, 2009)

I received a packet of Stad Ootmarsum Heerenbaai tobacco from Dubinthedam a while back. This is a tobacco that has not changed much from around the time period you are interested in. Unfortunately, I have already smoked or gifted it away or I'd send you some to try. However, I did do a video where you can see it and learn a little more about the blend if you are interested.


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

you could also try some 1792


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## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

If we use 1770 as the date, then all tobacco types have already been created (outside of modern "sweet" aromatics).

"Navy" blends, Cavendish, adding casings as well as flakes, coins, ropes and plugs were practical measures to stabilize and transport tobacco into Europe from the 1600's.

Remember that Samuel Gawith is _still_ using machinery manufactured in 1750. The use of "Lakeland" flavorings had already been established.

I think that the only real change to tobacco has been since after WWII, when "sweet" aromatics were introduced by Americans.


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

not so sure about the baccie but as for pipes, Im fairly certain the pipes were probably mostly home made out of what ever materials were available at least away from what have been big cities. Here in the Americas Pipes were probably made of clay and assorted hardwoods, even corn cobs.

I did read that MM started mass production, such as it was around 1869 so I'd believe they have been around pr5ior to that.

The Celestials, Persians and others have been smoking "stuff" for years prior to the 1700's out of one form or another of bongs!


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## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

Fuzzy said:


> not so sure about the baccie but as for pipes, Im fairly certain the pipes were probably mostly home made out of what ever materials were available at least away from what have been big cities. Here in the Americas Pipes were probably made of clay and assorted hardwoods, even corn cobs.
> 
> I did read that MM started mass production, such as it was around 1869 so I'd believe they have been around pr5ior to that.
> 
> The Celestials, Persians and others have been smoking "stuff" for years prior to the 1700's out of one form or another of bongs!


While tobacco wasn't introduced outside of the Americas until the 1500's, "pipes" have been used since Ancient times. Until tobacco, the common item smoked was hashish.


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## Stonedog (Mar 9, 2011)

CWL said:


> If we use 1770 as the date, then all tobacco types have already been created (outside of modern "sweet" aromatics).
> 
> "Navy" blends, Cavendish, adding casings as well as flakes, coins, ropes and plugs were practical measures to stabilize and transport tobacco into Europe from the 1600's.
> 
> ...


This is what I'm looking for. Any sources or links to back this up?

I asked all of this because I'm curious (as an example) what the gentleman inside of Ephraim Jones' Inn may have been enjoying when Major Pitcairn broke down the door back in April of 1775 demanding to know where the colonial military supplies were hidden...

Assuming the above is accurate (no reason to doubt it but would still like sources) it is possible that these gentlemen could have been smoking nearly any type of blend that including latakia, cavendish (sans topping?), lakeland scents and maybe even perique?

Given the politics of the day would they be enjoying locally grown and prepared tobacco or would they still be willing to pay extra for fancy tobacco sent to and from England?


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## indigosmoke (Sep 1, 2009)

This is a study primarily on pipes, but list links/citations to many other scholarly works that may be of interest.

The Archaeology of the Clay Tobacco Pipe and the Archaeological Study of Tobacco Consumption

Also, if you haven't try doing a search on Google Scholar. Try searches like colonial pipe tobacco, pipe tobacco americas, ect. and you'll probably find some interesting articles there though you may have to check through a few pages of results. Tobacco and pipes actually have a fairly large body of scholarly work devoted to them. You can read the abstracts, and while some may charge for access to the entire article, often if you then search on the specific title you can find a free source somewhere.

If there is a specific article you are interested in and can't gain access to let me know. I have access to several databases and can probably get it for you.


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## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

I doubt that Americans would have been smoking anything more than local VA tobaccos in your example above. Most of the processing was done for tobacco's exported to Europe. I doubt that the Colonial Americas had any need to import tobaccos, particularly processed baccys.

Unfortunately, you will need to see several sources for a broader picture of tobaccos and how the production/export of it helped change the world. I spent many hours looking for and reading every bit of tobacco history when I first got into pipe smoking and sort of accumulated info over time.

For quick reads, you should look at the Samuel Gawith website A chronological history of Samuel Gawith and Company read their history to understand how well advanced tobacco processing had become by the mid 1700's. You can also do searches for how Cavendish came about Cavendish tobacco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Here's a link to types of tobaccos Pipe Tobacco Manual.

Regarding Lakelands, historically, people used floral essences in both perfume and in foods. This was probably due to lack of any great variety of foods, spices, and to hide spoilage. It was also a mark of wealth and luxury to afford flavoring agents. Personally, I suspect that people's breaths simply stank due to lack of oral care and smoking something that tasted like flowers was a big plus for some back then.


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

Notsure how togoabout getting a reprint but I found this as a footnote

Turbowitz, Neal L. (1992)
Thanks, But We Prefer to Smoke Our Own: Pipes in the Great Lakes-Riverine Region During the Eighteenth Century. In Proceedings of the 1989 Smoking Pipe Conference: Selected Papers. Rochester Museum & Science Center Research Records 22:97-112. Hayes, C. F., III, C. Bodner, and M. L. Sempowski (eds). Rochester, New York.


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

From tobacco.org

the 1770's

1770s: UK: Glasgow is Britain's main tobacco port. 
1770: Demuth Tobacco shop, as of 8/20/03 the oldest tobacco shop in the nation, is established by Christopher Demuth at 114 E. King St., Lancaster, PA. 
1771-12-17: REGULATION: FRANCE: French official is condemned to be hanged for admitting foreign tobacco into the country. 
1776: *AMERICAN REVOLUTION* Along "Tobacco Coast" (the Chesapeake), the Revolutionary War was variously known as "The Tobacco War." Growers had found themselves perpetually in debt to British merchants; by 1776, growers owed the mercantile houses millions of pounds. British tobacco taxes are a further grievance. Tobacco helps finance the Revolution by serving as collateral for the loan Benjamin Franklin won from France--the security was 5 million pounds of Virginia tobacco. George Washington once appealed to his countrymen for aid to the army: "If you can't send money, send tobacco." During the war, it was tobacco exports that the fledgling government used to build up credits abroad. And, when the war was over, Americans turned to tobacco taxes to help repay the revolutionary war debt. 
1779: Pope Benedict XII opens a tobacco factory


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

I love timeline histories.

THE TOBACCO TIMELINE


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Fuzzy said:


> From tobacco.org
> ...
> 1776: *AMERICAN REVOLUTION* ...Tobacco helps finance the Revolution by serving as collateral for the loan Benjamin Franklin won from France--the security was 5 million pounds of Virginia tobacco. George Washington once appealed to his countrymen for aid to the army: "If you can't send money, send tobacco." During the war, it was tobacco exports that the fledgling government used to build up credits abroad. And, when the war was over, Americans turned to tobacco taxes to help repay the revolutionary war debt.
> 1779: Pope Benedict XII opens a tobacco factory


Huzzah! The Tobacco Nazis are anti-American!!

Anyhow, here's the start of the whole time line. I love timeline histories:

THE TOBACCO TIMELINE


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## User Name (Feb 11, 2011)

freestoke said:


> Huzzah! The Tobacco Nazis are anti-American!!
> 
> Anyhow, here's the start of the whole time line. I love timeline histories:
> 
> THE TOBACCO TIMELINE


That's actually quite funny. I can't wait another 300 years when we all hate the sh1t out of cancer causing cellphones and fast food.

You'd never hear about how tobacco built this nation in the history books in school.

However,

British history books might depict the United States as an evil, tobacco dealing people that used the cancerous, dangerous, and ungodly weed to make a deal with the devil himself (and France).


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